Lebanon to consider legalizing cannabis growing
July 18th, 20180 BEIRUT — Lebanon’s parliament is considering legalizing the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday, in an attempt to boost the struggling economy. “The Lebanese Parliament is preparing to study and adopt the legislation necessary to legislate the cultivation of cannabis and...
Iran files suit in international court against U.S. over sanctions
July 17th, 20180 AMSTERDAM — Iran has filed a lawsuit against the United States alleging that Washington’s decision in May to impose sanctions after pulling out of a nuclear deal violates a 1955 treaty between the two countries, the International Court of Justice said on Tuesday. A State Department official said the application was without merit...
Iraqi police disperse protesters outside Zubair oilfield as unrest grows
July 17th, 20180 BASRA, Iraq — Iraqi police wielded batons and rubber hoses to disperse about 250 protesters gathered at the main entrance to the Zubair oilfield near Basra on Tuesday as unrest across southern cities over poor basic services gathered pace. Since demonstrations began nine days ago, protesters have attacked government buildings,...
Russia hands over World Cup hosting duties to Qatar
July 15th, 20180 MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday handed over the mantle of World Cup host to the emir of Qatar, whose country will stage the 2022 edition of the tournament. The ceremony marked a handover from the world’s largest country by landmass to one of the smallest. Qatar has a population of 2.3 million people and an area...
Syrian government seizes control in birthplace of rebellion
July 14th, 20180 AMMAN/BEIRUT — The Syrian government raised the national flag on Thursday over areas of Deraa city that have been in rebel hands for years, a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad in the birthplace of the revolt against his rule. Syrian state television said the army hoisted the flag near the post office, the only government...
Angry Iraqi protesters at oilfields demanding jobs and basic services
July 13th, 20180 BASRA, Iraq — Iraqi police fired into the air to disperse protesters demanding jobs and better public services at one of three demonstrations outside major oilfields in the southern oil hub of Basra on Thursday, police sources said. Two protesters were wounded, police and hospital sources said, without elaborating, after the...
Israeli police question Netanyahu again over alleged corruption
July 10th, 20180 TEL AVIV - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces three investigations over alleged corruption, was questioned again by police over a case involving Israel’s largest telecoms firm on Tuesday. The authorities claim Netanyahu awarded regulatory favors to Bezeq Telecom Israel in return for favorable coverage of him and...
Survey: Most people think world is more dangerous than two years ago
July 10th, 20180 LONDON - Most people think the world is more dangerous today than it was two years ago as concerns rise over politically motivated violence and weapons of mass destruction, according to a survey released on Tuesday. Six out of ten respondents to the survey, commissioned by the Global Challenges Foundation, said the dangers had...
Syria: Air defenses hit Israeli plane, thwart missile strike
July 8th, 20181 BEIRUT - Syrian military air defenses struck an Israeli warplane and shot down Israeli missiles targeting the T4 air base in Homs province in response to an act of “aggression” on Sunday night, Syrian state media said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on foreign reports. Israel has grown deeply...
Struggling to save nuclear deal, Iran and world powers meet
July 7th, 20180 VIENNA — Iran wants world powers to present measures guaranteeing oil revenue and investment into the country despite U.S. sanctions when ministers meet on Friday to save the 2015 nuclear deal, but European states will fall short of its demands, diplomats said. In May, President Trump pulled the United States out of the...
The Trump-Putin summit and the Syria tug-of-war
July 6th, 20181 By Pepe Escobar Ahead of the Trump-Putin summit on July 16 in Helsinki, Syria-centered spin has gone into overdrive. Different sources have leaked what is billed as President Trump’s alleged Syria deal discussed with Jordan’s King Abdullah. Trump would “allow” Damascus, supported by Russian air power, to regain...
Four Arab states support U.S. ‘deal of the century’ in the Middle East
July 1st, 20180 AMMAN/WASHINGTON — Four Arab states have backed the U.S. plan for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, regardless of the position of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, an Israeli newspaper reports. The Israel Hayom daily interviewed officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan who...
Yemeni prisoners claim UAE officers sexually torture them
June 26th, 20180 Hundreds of Yemeni prisoners have been sexually abused at a jail in southern Yemen believed to be run by the United Arab Emirates, according to several witnesses. Fifteen officers who arrived at Beir Ahmed prison in Aden hid their faces behind their headdresses, but their accents were clearly identifiable as from the UAE, Associated...
Erdogan wins sweeping new powers after Turkish election victory
June 25th, 20180 ANKARA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan won sweeping new executive powers on Monday after his victory in elections that also saw his Islamist-rooted AK Party and its nationalist allies secure a majority in parliament. Erdogan’s main rival, Muharrem Ince of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), conceded defeat but branded the...
UAE collaboration with Israel goes back to 1990s, recently focuses on Iran
June 25th, 20181 Collaboration between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates officials started secretly in a Cyprus meeting to discuss the Iran nuclear agreement right before Donald Trump took office as U.S. president, according to a report in The New Yorker. The Obama administration was not aware of the meeting. U.S.......
U.S. quits U.N. Human Rights Council, claiming it’s anti-Israel
June 24th, 20180 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday, accusing the body of hypocrisy and bias against Israel. “For too long, the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias,” Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Tuesday...
U.N. General Assembly condemns Israel’s massacre of Gaza protestors
June 23rd, 20180 UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly condemned Israel last Wednesday for excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians and asked U.N. chief Antonio Guterres to recommend an “international protection mechanism” for occupied Palestinian territory. The General Assembly adopted a resolution with 120 votes in favor,......
Qatar buying American influence through pro-Israel lobby and businessmen
June 22nd, 20180 WASHINGTON — A pro-Israel businessman doing public relations work for Qatar donated $100,000 to the Zionist Organization of America out of money Qatar paid him to “invest” in “community engagement.” Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, told the Jewish Insider on Wednesday that he had been under...
Doctors Without Borders recruits in Dearborn
June 22nd, 20180 DEARBORN— Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters and exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries, is coming to the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan on...
Israeli killing darken Eid al-Fitr holiday in Gaza
June 14th, 20180 GAZA ― Israel’s killing of at least 125 Palestinians during protests at the Gaza border is casting a shadow in the enclave on its celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Economic hardship arising from years of blockades, conflict and internal political rivalries has also...
Egypt hopeful on Salah as fans remain in suspense
June 14th, 20180 CAIRO/YEKATERINBURG ― Egypt coach Hector Cuper said Mohamed Salah had a “great chance” of playing against Uruguay but no decision would be taken until Thursday’s training session as the Pharoahs flew into Yekaterinburg for the start of their World Cup campaign. “I am optimistic that he will be with us, I think he has a great......
Palestinian hit in face by tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldier in Gaza protests
June 12th, 20180 GAZA - A Palestinian hit in the face by a tear-gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier, was on life support in a Gaza hospital on Friday. Israel says it uses tear gas as a non-lethal measure against Gaza border protests. But the projectile, launched by a soldier on the Israeli side of the frontier, hit Haitham Abu Sabla in...
U.N. refugee agency hopes Lebanon will reverse residency freeze
June 12th, 20180 GENEVA/BEIRUT ― The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR hopes the Lebanese foreign ministry will quickly reverse a decision to freeze residency applications the agency has submitted for its staff, its spokesman said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil ordered the freeze last week after accusing UNHCR of hindering the return of......
Amman ranked most expensive Arab city, 28th worldwide
June 5th, 20180 AMMAN — Amman was ranked the most expensive city in the Arab world and 28th worldwide, exceeding some of the main Gulf, European and North American cities such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, Rome, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, according to a recent report by The Economist. Titled "Worldwide Cost of Living Survey", the study was...
Lebanon working for return of thousands of Syrian refugees
June 5th, 20180 BEIRUT — Lebanon is working with Damascus for the return of thousands of refugees who want to go back to Syria, a Lebanese official said on Thursday. As the Syrian army, backed by Iran and Russia, has recovered territory, Lebanon’s president and other politicians have called for refugees to go back to “secure areas” before a......
